Game court



De.l17, 1940.

E. F. MURPHY 2,225,458

GAME COURT Filed April 26, 1959 CINDERS TON ROLLER Patented Dec. 17,1940 UNITED STATESl PATENT orifice 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the method of constructing foundations and the'surfaces thereof, rand particularly to the method of constructingsurfaces and foundations for tennis courts, badminton courts, paddlecourts and playgrounds, paths andr drivewaysand the like, as well as tothe structure of the sports courts themselves.

It is highly desirable that sports courts, driveways, paths and the likebe constructed for r-apid drying to enable the early use thereof afterthey have been rained upon, and it is, therefore, a purpose of thisinvention to provide a playing court or the like which will quickly dryafter a wetting.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sports court and thelike which has a resilient and yet a strong surface.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a sports court and thelike having a surface which permits a certain amount of slide underfoot.

It is a further purpose of this invention to provide a sports court andthe like which may be used outdoors the year around and is not affectedby the rays of the sun, or by changes in weather conditions.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sports court and thelike which is durable and lasting and will not require constant care andattention.

The foregoing and still further objects will become more fully apparentfrom the ensuing description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing forming part of my disclosure but not intended to limit the sameto the actual construction shown.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a cross section through a portion of a sportscourt embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section through a portion of a o modified form of myinvention.

Fig. 3 is a cross section through a portion of another form of myinvention when applied as a new surface over a former sports court orthe like.

The area which is to be prepared to receive my fsp'ts court or the likeis rst excavated to a depth of approximately eight inches. It is to beunderstood that the depth of the excavation may be ascertained inaccordance with the use to o. which the court is to be put and thefigures which are given herein have Ibeen found to be satisfactory forsports courts but they may be made greater or less when found desirablewithout departing from the spirit and scope` of my invention.

The surface of the excavation is graded to have a pitch of one inch intwenty feet and the materials which are used follow this pitch so thatthe finished surface of the court will be similarly inclined to insureproper drainage thereof. The surface of the excavation is then rolled,prefera- 5 bly with a heavy power roller and when substantially allirregularities are smoothed out 2" x 6" creosotedplanks are disposed onall the outside edges of the excavation and are secured rmly in place bycreosoted stakes driven into the 10 ground; The excavation or pit is nowfully prepared to receive the various layers of material whicharecombined to provide a court having the Various advantages resulting fromthis design and method of construction.

The surface of the pit is covered with a layer of clean cinders to adepth of approximately four inches, as disclosed, particularly in Fig. 1of the drawing, these cinders are evenly distributed in the, pit and arethen subjected to the crushing and, compressing action of a heavy powerroller.

I prefer-ably use clean cinders to form` the base of my court but it isnot my intention to limit my invention to their use alone, as I alsocontemplate using broken stone in place of cinders when desired.

Upon this base of cinders I, I place 2 x4" screeds on edge which are setto the finished grade of the next layer or stratum of my court which Iam about to describe. Approximately four more inches of clean cinders 3are evenly distributed over the base of cinders `and in this instance Imay again use broken stone in place of cinders 3. The stratum of cinderslaid over the base of cinders is graded by a straight edge which restsupon and slides on the edges of the screeds which have been disposed onthe cinder base about the inside edge of the pit. v The cinders 3 arethen rolled an-d I have found the action of a three ton power roller tobe effective in compressing this stratum of cinders on the cinder base,although a heavier or lighter roller may, of course, be used.

The 2 x 4" screeds should nowbe removed and the depressions left must befilled with cinders which are thoroughly tamped and the stratum is againchecked with a long straight edge and any depressions forming an unevensurface are filled with screened cinders which are lightly rolled.

It is evident that two beds of cinders have been 50,

disposed in the pit and rolled and graded. This base for my sports courtcomprises the two beds or layers l and 3 which have been separately laidand separatelygraded and rolled so as to provide arelatively rmfoundation for the layers of material which are now applied and which Iam about to describe. To the surface of the layer of cinders 3 whichforms the top layer of the entire base I apply either liquid asphaltemulsion or cut back, employing one-half gallon to one square yard ofsurface of the cinders. This asphalt emulsion acts as a binder for thetop surface of the upper layer or stratum of cinders. Over the layer ofcinders 3 and after the asphalt emulsion has been applied thereto Istretch a fabric 1 preferably though not necessarily a heavy cottonfabric such as burlap, using Ia block and tackle to secure the properpositioning and tautness to the fabric which may be applied in strips,the joints thereof being lapped about eight inches. When the fabric istautly and securely disposed over the cinder layer 3 and the asphaltemulsion 5 to which it adheres, it is impregnated with liquid asphaltemulsion or cut back, applying approximately one-quarter gallon to onesquare yard of the fabric. Immediately following the impregnation of theburlap a resilient layer is applied thereto which consists of corkgranules I I which are applied insufficient quantity to completely coverthe impregnated fabric surface to an approximate depth of one-quarter ofan inch. Upon the resilient cork layer I place pipe screeds which areset to the finished grade and then approximately three-eighths inchcrushed stone I3 is distributed over the cork granules t0 a depth ofabout three-quarters of an inch forniing a layer of non-yieldingmaterial. I grade this layer of crushed stone with a straight edgeresting upon the pipe screeds. Upon completion of the grading the pipescreeds are removed and the holes left are filled with three-eighthsinch crushed stone. To the surf-ace of the crushed stone layer I3 Iapply liquid asphalt I5, using approximately one-half gallon to onesquare yard of surface; after the surface of the stone has been treatedI ll the voids between the crushed stone with finer crushed stone andgrits I1. The foundation is now left until the asphalt emulsion I5 hascracked or turned black, at which time the surface is rolled thoroughly,preferably with a three .ton power roller, after which liquid asphalt I9is applied in the quantity of approximatelyone-fth of a gallon to onesquare yard, and before the asphalt hardens it is covered with greenslate granules 2| and rolled While the asphalt is still soft.

vWhen the asphalt has hardened and a proportion of the slate granuleshave adhered thereto the court may be marked in any desired mannerdepending upon the use to which it is to be put.

` At any Itime during the process of constructing my court when thefabric 'I has set with its adjacent materials the block and tackle maybe removed therefrom and any excess portions of fabric out from theedges of .the court.

It will thus .be Aevident that a court or pavement constructed asdescribed includes a base 52 formed of the two cinder or stone layers Iand 3 and the upper section which comprises the various layers ofmaterials both resilient and unyielding, and that the base and uppersection are separated by the fabric. Such a court is quick drying andbecause ofthe material used and the arrangement thereof in the structurepresents a resilient surface, yet one which is endowed with strong andlasting qualities. By using slate granules on the surface which arecolored green it will be clear that the rays of the sun Will not beattracted and the court surface will not become as hot as does lthesurface of the usual asphalt court.

In Fig. 2 of the drawing, I show another form of my invention which isused when a sports court, path, or driveway is desired, which is lessexpensive than that disclosed in Fig. l of the drawing.

The method used in this form is similar to that already described andtherefore will not be repeated in detail in this connection. The areaupon which the court is to be constructed is excavated and gradedforming a pit approximately three inches in depth into which I placeclean cinders 23 to a depth of about three inches. The cinders are thenrolled, preferably with a .three ton roller. Liquid asphalt 25 and heavycotton yfabric 2l, such as burlap, are then applied as above described.In this form of my invention I omit the cork granules and instead Iplace the three eighths inch crushed stone 29 directly over the fabricafter it has been impregnated and I then apply asphalt 3| and fill inthe voids between the stone with finer crushed stone and grits 33. Thecompleting steps are exactly similar to those explained in connectionwith Fig. lof the drawing, the green slate granular surface beingdesignated by the numeral 35.

In Fig. 3 I have disclosed my invention as applied oVer a presentsurface of clay or other materials. Where the owner of a sport-s courtor the like of clay or other materials desires a court of myconstruction it is not necessary to remove the old surface. Instead Imerely regrade the present clay surface 31 so that the pitch of thecourt is one inch in twenty feet and to this graded surface I apply athree inch layer of clean cinders 39 graded between screeds, and rollwith a three ton roller. The depressions remaining after removal of thescreeds are filled with cinders which are tamped into place, whereuponthe surface is again check-ed for irregularities and screened cindersyarer used to even the surface. Upon this layer 39 a heavy cotton fabricor burlap 4I is stretched with block and tackle and the burlap isimpregnated as in the already -described forms of my invention. Theimpregnated fabric, asphalt cork granules 45, crushed stone 4l, asphalt49, and the use of crushed stone and grits 5I, and the remaining stepsused in completing the sports court including the surface 53 are similarto that described in connection with the preferred form of Fig. 1 of thedrawing and will not now be further described.

Thus the court of my invention maybe built right upon the surface of aclay or the like court and like advantageous results will follow.

Variations within the spirit and scope of my invention are equallycomprehended by the foregoing disclosure.

I claim:

1. A sports court comprising a base section composed of two separatelylaid beds of cinders having a, binder applied to the top surface there,--of, an asphalt impregnated fabric disposed on said base and a resilientlayer of cork granules disposed on said fabric, a layer of crushed stoneapplied on said cork granules, a binder applied to Isaid layer of stone,finer stone applied between said crushed stones, a binder appliedthereto and slate granules dispo-sed on said layer of crushed stoneandsaid finer stone.

2. A method of constructing a sports court comprising the followingsteps; excavating a pit, kdistributing a layer of granular materialtherein and rolling said layer, distributing another layer of granularmaterial therein and rolling and grading, applying an asphalt emulsionto this surface and then stretching strips of heavy fabric over thislapping the joints of the fabric, impregnating the fabric with a liquidasphalt and covering inmediately with a layer of resilient material,`distributing a layer of non-yielding material on said layer ofresilient material, and grading, applying a liquid asphalt to thissurface, letting the asphalt on last named layer crack, then rolling thesurface `and applying liquid asphalt, and covering with granularmaterial while asphalt is soft. 5

EDWARD F. MURPHY.

